Desperate Kingdom of Love
by LovelyLytton
Summary: What if Minako had really been Princess Serenity? An AU following her life in the Silver Millennium. The title comes from a P.J. Harvey song, the fic is based on a SM Monthly prompt. Enjoy!


_If the princess of the Moon had been another one, what would have changed?_

_Would she have still fallen in love with this wild planet more than she had with her own home?_

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* * *

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In a hidden corner of the palace, a young girl sat on the floor.

She had escaped lessons, watchful eyes and her friends to be here and to indulge in this moment of almost frivolous privacy. Half of the palace was looking for the crown princess, but she couldn't possibly care less. Being a princess was boring. Serenity had long since decided that she'd rather be a chef. Or a maid. Or a soldier. Oh yes, the latter would be perfect for her, the girl mused and thought that she could make quite an extra-ordinary one, because no one would expect her to be able to fight and she would thus be able to take all enemies by surprise. She could be like Sailor Uranus; tall, strong and fierce, but hide it behind a smile. Her mother however didn't share this sentiment and had told her in no uncertain times that her destiny was another one and that it most certainly didn't involve swords.

Long blonde hair tied back with a bow and her dress stained with drops of strawberry juice, she lounged on the cold marble as if it were a chaise . Every once in a while, her nimble fingers would reach for another piece of ripe red fruit from the crystal bowl next to her small feet and pop it into her mouth. After half an hour spent like this, a white cat entered the room just as surreptitiously as the princess had before. The diplomat gracefully curled down next to the girl, and joined her in her silent observation.

Opposite the two of them hung a huge screen, which (together with the strawberries) commanded all of Serenity's attention. It showed the forbidden planet, turning ever so slowly in the darkness of the galaxy. Its green and blue beauty had ensnared the princess of the Moon, who had grown up amidst silver oceans and grey mountains. The ambassador of Mau had never travelled to Earth, but had heard enough about it to feel the need to discourage the child from being interested in it.

"Princess, I have heard the most abhorrent tales about the Terrans. They are barbaric, ruthless and very undeserving of both their planet's beauty and your attention."

But it was as if the girl had not heard a word he had said. Her wide eyes never left the screen and a plan began to form in her mind even though it would take her years to finally put it into action.

Eventually, the cat sighed and slipped out of the room again, its velvety paws making no sound that could have disrupted the unusual solitude the princess had hidden herself in He decided not to tell her protectors where she was hidden just yet. She would emerge in her own time, all royal smiles and her pensive side locked carefully away. His charge was smarter than people gave her credit for.

Long after the Mauan had left, she finally spoke up in a voice clear and full of promises.

"Artemis, one day I will travel to Earth. I will swim in their sea, I will walk on their ground and I will look up at the bright sun and let it blind me."

Had her yielding guardian only known that the Princess was lost to her kingdom and to him the minute she saw the twirling orb for the first time, he would have smashed the screen and locked her away for evermore.

* * *

_Would she have still snuck down to the forbidden green and blue orb to tempt fate?_

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* * *

_

Her steps were soft, very much like the whisper of the rustling leaves above her. Nobody knew she was here, and each step she made beneath the green canopy bound her closer to the world that had only ever been spoken of with derision, pity and contempt.

It was supposed to be ugly, barbaric and void of culture, but hidden under the magical garment that cloaked her in invisibility, the princess knew that they had all been wrong. The people who lived in such a paradise must have pure hearts and good souls, it was impossible for evil to hide behind the vibrant colours and sweet sounds of Earth.

During her first visit, it began to rain. The child of the Moon had never experienced anything like this, nor had she heard about it. The cascading water sent goosebumps dancing on her excited flesh and with eyes wide with wonder, she strolled around the magical lands of Elysion. The rain tasted like freedom, and she wanted to get drunk on it. Seventeen years behind the Moon palace's walls, which had been called the most tranquil and beautiful place in all the universe, and yet it was in the wild forests of Earth that she finally experienced the feeling for which she had been named.

Here, she could be anything she wanted. Not a single soul would follow her and chastise her for unfitting behaviour, too daring jokes or the wish to be more than a pretty face. While she loved her senshi dearly, she'd have rather been one among them than their charge. Mars would have been a true friend to her had it not been for the title that stood between them and kept the raven-haired beauty at arms' length. But the gods had not left her entirely alone.

Artemis was her closest confidante, he knew her every secret but this one. And then there was her chambermaid, who shared her looks and her sense of humour. Their deep friendship was another secret, one she treasured above many other things. Even as children, they had been close. One of their favourite games had been princess and protector. Hestia had always gladly assumed the part of the princess, and Serenity brandished a sword made from thin air in order to defend the girl from imaginary foes. Unbeknownst to them, both Artemis and Sailor Pluto had been aware of their playful games, watched them wistfully and pondered what might have been if the roles had been reversed.

Sailor Pluto had stopped visiting the Moon years ago and instead clung to the gates of time and space, waiting for another world to unfold and make it all right again.

Plucking a white rose from its stem, Serenity didn't even notice the drop of blood that fell from her pale finger and onto the green ground, so delighted was she at finally being there. Lifting the soft petals to her nose, she inhaled their smell and wondered how she could ever return to the planet that she was destined to rule in a future that she hoped was still so far away.

After she had departed, something wondrous happened. A sunflower grew on the spot her blood had fallen onto, marking it as hers for all eternity. In years that were to come long after her time, people would build a temple on this spot and pray to the goddess Aphrodite. Had Pluto been aware of that particular detail, she would have laughed, before succumbing to the tears that she hid in her soul ever since she saw the two blonde children play.

* * *

_Would the world still have stopped turning when she set foot into the royal gardens the first time? _

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* * *

_

It was an addiction. It was reckless, it was dangerous, it was the only thing that made her feel alive. Despite her mother's words, Serenity knew that she was not born to sit still and smile. The powers of the silver crystal were magnificent and she was to inherit them, but she was not made for healing.

Deep in her heart, she was a warrior and she craved the rush of adrenaline only the trips to Earth could bestow upon her. None of the senshi had caught on to their charge's secret, but Mars' shrewd eyes began to see more than Serenity wanted them to. The princess knew that in a time not so far away, the senshi that had always wanted to be a priestess would see through her deceptively sweet smiles and spot Serenity's true self behind the carefully upheld façade. The only question was what her protector would do then.

Years had passed since she had watched Earth on a screen only and her visits were becoming more frequent. Hardly a week went by without the crown princess sneaking down to Earth. Her first visits had been limited to fields and forests in the dead of the night, when the Moon glowed brightly in the velvet sky, but she was a curious person and soon found herself wandering under the sun's warming light as if she belonged.

After the forests came small villages, then slightly larger towns and finally the capital of the Golden Kingdom. Her contagious smile opened doors that would have otherwise remained firmly shut because of her ignorance of the Terran ways, but she learned quickly and soon she was able to walk among their midst without drawing more attention to herself than any other pretty girl would have.

The princess of the Moon had seen more of Earth than some who were born on its very ground. The Arctic, the deserts, the mountains, the sea. All were familiar to her and already she had fulfilled the promise given as a young girl.

Everything might have been different, the world as she knew it might not have stopped if only she wouldn't have been so drawn to the golden glow of the palace itself. But it called to her and like light to a moth, like flowers to a bee, like one lover to another; she followed its call. She simply couldn't resist.

Little did she now that behind the protective walls of Elysion's very core, she would find more than she had ever anticipated. Above her in the heavens, the deities called out to her not enter, but the princess never heard their warnings or chose not to heed them.

It was a garden full of lush red roses and grey fountains that she found herself in, it having been the only place inside the palace she was able to teleport into. While it was without a doubt beautiful, it wasn't for her.

Looking around, she decided that it was actually very much like the Moon and thus not as interesting as the rest of the planet had been. Nevertheless, Serenity decided to look around a bit. Her fingers trailed over the hard marble and dipped into the cold water of the fountain, and she was momentarily lost in thought. What would Mars do once she found out that Serenity had escaped her supervision and protection for more times than she could count?

"Turn around", a deep voice called to her.

She whirled on the spot and came face to face with a tall man with his sword precariously close to her delicate neck. His green eyes bore into her and she had a feeling that it would be impossible to hide anything from this man. Strangely, the thought didn't scare her, it only piqued her interest. He looked just like one of the statues in her mother's private garden, impossibly intimidating and breathtakingly beautiful.

Everything about him was silver, and everything about her was gold. He would have looked perfectly at home on the Moon, if it weren't for his tanned skin. She could have been counted to the people of the Earth, if it weren't for the tangible aura of magic that now clung to her like a cloak. Kunzite was certain that she was a child of the fairies he had been told about as a young boy, so otherworldly was her beauty, so fair was her skin, so ensnaring were her oceanic eyes. He wouldn't have been surprised if she suddenly sprouted wings and flew away, but the young woman remained rooted on the spot. Why there wasn't even a trace of fear in her features was a question that stayed with him for a long time. He was used to people cowering in front of him because of one look of his, and yet she stood strong.

Despite his careful nature and years of training, he lowered the sharp blade, but did not distance himself from the intruder. A breeze arose and toyed with the hem of her pale yellow dress and his billowing grey cape; causing them to mingle in the wind.

She reached for his face, surprised to find it so soft to her touch despite him being all edges and no curves. And for the first time in years, it didn't matter on which planet she was or whether she would forever be doomed to sit idly by while the senshi fought her battles.

The spell was broken when footsteps sounded through the garden. Her eyes remained set on him, but her hands withdrew. She was gone in a whirlwind of fluttering skirts and sparkling golden lights, leaving the soft smell of sunlight behind.

* * *

When he saw her again, he thought she was a hallucination brought about by the dry heat of the desert which he called his home. His father had died and he had been called to both a funeral and a coronation, and his mouth still tasted bitter because of the unshed tears and the grief that threatened to overwhelm him. The king of the east had been a benevolent ruler, loved by his people and even more so by his only son. It had been his idea to make his heir a shitennou and for that Kunzite was eternally grateful. His father had been a man of few words, but nothing remained unsaid between them and the old king's death left his son utterly alone. Despite the distance, they had been close, relying on another and trusting each other's advice in a way that not many men could.

The loss was tangible, his father had taken a piece of his son's soul with him to the grave that had been built upon his ascension the throne so many years ago. The king now lay in a glorious temple in the desert, hidden under a pyramid that would stand for all eternity.

As far as Kunzite knew, his own tomb was already under construction.

The people of the desert had always had their own way of honouring those they held dear.

Fifteen feet away stood the golden girl, looking very much at ease under the blazing sunlight. She walked over to him, each step speaking of delight and surprise at seeing him again. Only when she patted his horse and cheekily grinned up at him, did he know that she was not a fata morgana, but very real indeed.

He was sure that she was a gift send to him by his father from his final resting place in the heavens, for with her by his side, loneliness became nothing more than a distant memory.

* * *

Upon her return to the Moon, she took to her chambers. Her maid told everyone that the princess was resting, exhausted by a migraine that had attacked the poor girl out of nowhere. Luckily, Hestia was known for her honest and sweet nature, so her words were not questioned and the princess was left alone.

After Serenity had told her about her latest adventure in rushed and whispered words, the maid looked out of the window longingly.

"I wish I could go there once. Just once."

Serenity's slender arms encircled her friend and huddled together, they sat still in the darkness that they would share in each and every world they ever lived in.

* * *

After having spend the entire day in meetings with his fellow shitennou, the royal family and a herd of advisers, Kunzite was bone weary. Slamming the door to his inner chambers shut, he closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down, but peace eluded him.

Once again, they had argued for hours over whether or not they should attempt to join the Silver Alliance by sending diplomats to the Moon. But every diplomat sent there without an official invitation was nothing more than a beggar.

Thus the lead shitennou was set against it. Every fibre of his body resented pleading for something that they should have been handed on a golden plate. Earth was no longer a wild planet, they had made so much progress in the last hundred years and yet, they were treated like misbehaving children.

He was certain that, if left to their own devices, the council of the alliance would invite them to join in time. All they needed was patience. Begging for it now would only make them looker weaker than they were and if there was one thing Kunzite despised, it was an open display of weakness.

With one sweep of his arm, the documents on his heavy mahogany desk flew to the ground, littering the marble with plans that should have never been made. But he was a man of honour and duty above anything else, so what his prince requested, his prince got. Even if Endymion was a fool for demanding it.

The soft candlelight that illuminated the room did nothing to alleviate his inner turmoil, and neither did the lack of having someone who truly understood him. Even Zoisite had supported the prince's idea.

He was standing absolutely still amidst the sea of parchment, and it was a moment of such privacy that his secret visitor almost wished she hadn't come. But it had been done and there was no route of escape that wouldn't alert him to her presence.

So she moved out from her hiding spot near the balcony and closed the distance between them. His broad back was turned to her, her feather-light steps drowned by the sound of his own rapidly beating heart. Only when one of the rolls of parchment was picked up and gently pressed back into his hand did he know that his solitude had been broken.

His first response was unabashed rage at being caught like this, but once he turned and saw who it was that had disrupted him, it vanished into thin air. He couldn't quite tell what the feeling was that had replaced it. But it was good.

A small smile rested on her full lips, but it disappeared as soon as she began to speak.

"I have been thinking about you."

Her face was solemn, and the expression in her eyes was dark. Forbidden fruit always tasted sweet.

* * *

When she appeared in the gardens not many days after their nightly meeting, her general was not alone. Next to him stood an equally tall man, younger in years, but higher in rank. They were deep in conversation, obviously arguing. The force of the apparition had caused her to stumble, and it was the man with the jet black hair that immediately rushed forward and caught her in his arms. Her sudden appearance had taken both men by surprise.

Nothing in Kunzite's eyes told her whether to stay or to run, his face was so carefully devoid of expression that she felt panic rising in her chest like a powerful wave. Even the initial surprise she had seen flitting over his features was now long gone, hidden behind the impenetrable mask he slipped on as soon as he beheld her in his comrade's arms.

She bolted.

* * *

_Would the prince have fallen in love with her?_

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* * *

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He had taken to spending a lot of time in his rose garden, hoping that she would appear again. And she did. Kunzite, his sworn protector, was always by his side, as if he were afraid that this graceful creature could do his prince any harm. Jadeite had mocked their liege for falling so hard for what must be a mischievous fairy, but steadfastly, Endymion waited for her return.

Only Kunzite was willing to put up with the endless hours spend in the garden, so strong was his sense of obligation. More than once Endymion tried to tell his friend that it wasn't his fault that someone had been able to intrude into the palace and break through their defences, but Kunzite had shrugged it off and just joined him in his vigil.

Her next visit came sooner than expected. The air crackled with electricity and it was almost as if she fell from the clouds again. This time, she stayed.

Soon, the golden girl had charmed him with her smiles, her blissful naivete and her witty banter. It took him weeks to figure out who she was, but once he did, he was even more intend on making her his. His friend had quite a different reaction to realising that it was the Moon queen's daughter they had been entertaining. The servants' whispers of broken furniture and smashed windows behind slammed doors reached his ears, and Endymion remembered his general's opposition to the notion of diplomats being send to the Moon once again.

Serenity was lovely and even more so because she was the key to joining the Silver Alliance. It seemed as if the heavens had answered Endymion's forceful prayers and sent him this girl to gain Earth's rightful place among the other planets.

He did notice Kunzite growing colder each day. His general wasn't a talkative man, but his voice was heard so rarely in the weeks that followed the princess' first appearance that the sound of it was almost forgotten. Jadeite's teasing and taunting fell on deaf ears, Nephrite dirty jokes didn't even cause his lips to twitch and Zoisite's considerate inquiries were met with stubborn silence.

The prince knew that his friend disapproved of his interest in Moon queen's daughter, Kunzite had always been wary of their magic and their superiority clawed at the stoic man's pride, but these feelings didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Earth was more important.

The secret meetings between the princess and the two men continued and were spent with more than words – the clever girl had talked them into teaching her how to fight with a sword. While her first stroke was so clumsy that even Kunzite shed a genuine smile (the first in weeks), she quickly displayed a talent for it that became more pronounced with every further lesson she took. It was his general that grudgingly taught her, and he did it well. Endymion watched them in combat, but he wondered what the princess would do if she were ever faced with someone who didn't hold back. Kunzite was a gentleman through and through, and he never attacked with full force for it would have crushed her and snapped her like a dry twig.

Finally, the negotiations between Moon and Earth started once again, but it did mean the end of her visits to Earth. Too big was the risk that the her mother would suspend the talks if she found out what her daughter did when she wasn't looking. Hoping for a peaceful future, Serenity agreed.

So it was Kunzite who was sent to the Moon on a diplomatic mission, the first in a hundred years, and he came endowed with Endymion's full support and all his hopes.

* * *

_Would Endymion still have been strong enough to withhold Beryl?_

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* * *

_

But things played out differently. Whispers reached his ears that his general and the princess had stricken up a friendship, seeking each other's company and walking the long halls of the Moon's palace together. Apparently, his general had found his voice again.

Endymion was more than surprised with which ease Kunzite had assumed his position as matchmaker despite his initial reluctance, but he never even considered to question his loyalty. The silver-haired man was more than able to hide all his personal animosities behind unfailing politeness and Endymion was certain that everything would go precisely as planned.

Only when his general returned with the news that the princess was not to be betrothed to a Terran and that the joining of the Alliance was out of the question as of yet, did he begin to wonder whether there wasn't something he had not seen. It was the first time he had seen Kunzite fail and it made him more than a little suspicious.

And yet, he had never given a second thought to the reason of the princess' visits and he still did not do so. With the natural arrogance of a man born with everything he wanted, he had assumed that it had been because of himself Serenity had appeared time and again. He had never noticed the accidental touches that might not have been so accidental after all, so he eventually assumed that his general had not given his very best because he had resented this mission all along.

Endymion was not pleased and Kunzite seemed torn and genuinely sorry.

Feeling scorned and humiliated by the Silver Alliance and the queen of the Moon above anyone else, Earth's crown prince was easy prey for Beryl.

Always true to their words, his shitennou followed him into war with the Moon.

* * *

_Would the Moon Kingdom have fallen?_

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* * *

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Selenity watched her beautiful kingdom in its last breath.

Endymion and his generals were ruthless, but at least they killed quickly. Blood ran down the stairs leading to the palace's temple, tainting its beauty and twisting it into an image so abhorrent that the queen knew that no prayer send from here would ever be answered again. Her daughter was hidden deep in the palace, with only her guardians, her maid and Artemis by her side. Everyone else was running around outside, trying to save a thing already lost.

The Silver Alliance had been thoroughly destroyed. How Earth had managed to launch attacks on Jupiter, Mars and Mercury without as a much as a whispered rumour reaching the Moon was a mystery she would no have time to unravel. Her own death was already written in the stars, but if the next generation survived, it would be worth it. She would use the crystal to destroy Earth's armies and Metallia with them at the expense of her own life, and then her daughter would rule over the brave new world thus created. An explosion in the distance shattered the many windows of the throne room, and amidst the glittering shards the Queen was astonished that Prince Endymion had not come for her yet.

A wounded Artemis stumbled in the room, and as soon as she saw him in his human form, she knew she had made a grave mistake. Endymion would not come for herself first, he would come for her child.

Running out of the room, past the dying man, she hoped for a miracle.

The corridors leading to the palace's heart were torched, some curtains were still burning and the smell of charred flesh made her nauseous. Mars had fought well, and she had taken one of Earth's heavenly kings down with her. It was impossible to tell which one it was, for nothing remained of him but a small heap of burning bones on the soot covered floor. Next to it lay the diadem of the Martian princess. The attack had destroyed her completely. Ashes swirled gracefully through the thin air in an elegant dance of doom.

Each step closer to the rooms that should have been a safe sanctuary told her horrible tales of the fights that had taken place here. Jupiter had been the next to throw herself in the attackers' way, but she had paid dearly. Death was hanging around her, but it had not yet consumed the warrior. Her beauty had been taken from her first, then her heart and finally the better part of her brain and it was thus the Queen knew that the Witch Queen had come along with the earthly convoy. No man would be able to do this. Despite the fear for her child clouding her heart, she took the time to bend down and help the brave soul escapes her worldly confines. When Jupiter's unseeing eyes closed forever, the Queen marched on, steeling and preparing herself for the worst.

The wide doors were finally reached, and opened only hesitantly. A churning sound accompanied the movement.

The quarters were covered in white frost, it was everywhere, cloaking the bed's curtains, engulfing the large wardrobe, and embracing the chaise Serenity had always loved to rest on. Coldness touched her skin, but its icy fingers had gripped her heart as soon as she realised that it was not herself who would suffer under Earth's revenge. Three frozen statues stood in the middle of the room in a mockery of beauty and art, and one of them was Mercury. She too had sacrificed herself in order to weaken the inescapable attack on Serenity. Now all but one shitennou were accounted for. Stepping though the snow, she approached the broken French windows leading to private garden, which loosely dangled in their hinges. Stepping through them and beholding the scene in front of her, the Queen send a silent call to the outer senshi, not sure whether it would still reach them. Saturn had to be evoked. Everything was lost.

The grass swished softly in a playful breeze and Hestia lay on the ground as if she were sleeping. But the thin line at her throat spoke of a different fate and the dress she wore had been sullied by the dark red of her blood. She had been the first one to fall on this treasured ground, but not the last.

* * *

A mere ten minutes earlier, the garden had offered a scene very much different from the still life it was now.

"So you think that you are better than all of us mere mortals? You're not, Serenity! See, you bleed, too!" His voice had taken on a manic, triumphant edge on beholding her spilt blood.

Endymion's sword had cut a deep gash into her arm, but Moon's princess still stood strong. Her hands were holding tightly on to the legendary Holy Blade that had appeared out of nowhere, and while she knew that the war was lost, she hoped to at least win the battle. She owed that to the brave girls who had died for and because of her.

"I have never thought anything like this and you know it! Endymion, see reason!"

The sounds of steps on Mercury's carpet of ice and snow were drowned by the fear drumming in her ears, and it was this ignorance that cost Hestia her life. The maid had been standing close to the French windows, watching how her princess and the handsome Terran faced each other in battle. It was the last thing she ever saw.

Beryl slid her throat in one long movement and then casually threw the girl to the floor, wiping the blood-covered blade on her already dirty dress. The dagger that had slid Hestia's white throat and speared Jupiter's eyes remained in her hands, the ruby adorned hilt glinting in the moonlight.

"My prince, finish her! General Kunzite has just successfully fought the last rebels and is on his way to us as we speak. Mercury and Mars have been taken down by the other shitennou and I went back to take care of Jupiter myself. Now only this girl stands between you and your rightful place. Her mother will not fight us if her precious Serenity is no more. Prince, do it." Her voice was silken, sultry, seductive. A black shadow rushed over Endymion's eyes and he threw himself in the next attack. But the princess jumped out of his way, moving ever so quickly.

She had reached Beryl within one stride and struck the blade deep into the witch's body. Had Beryl had a heart, it would have been pierced.

But the small victory came at price. Serenity had darted past Endymion to attack the red-haired monster, thus presenting him her unprotected back. He roared, and the princess looked down her chest to see the tip of his silver blade piercing through her. It disappeared so quickly that she might have thought it to be an illusion, were it not for the pain that set her lungs on fire.

The French windows were once again thrown open, causing them to shatter and to break.

Kunzite had finally arrived.

This time it was him who caught the falling girl.

* * *

So it was amidst the bloody remains of this final battle that Queen Selenity found her only child in the strong arms of the silver-haired general she had send away weeks ago. His calloused and blood-stained hands caressed Serenity in a way so tender she would not have thought possible for a warrior of his reputation. Pain was evident on his striking features as he looked into the blue blue eyes that had charmed him on first sight. The vigilant warrior no longer cared for the battle he had fought just minutes ago and Selenity knew that his heart had not been in it in the first place. The reason he had shed blood on her planet was the pledge he had sworn to Endymion and the vain hope that the now dying girl could be protected by his presence alone. She could not.

He had come as Endymion's ambassador, but as a woman and a mother she had known that despite his words, it was not his liege's wish to join the Silver Alliance that had led him here. He asked for Serenity's hand in marriage for his prince in an attempt to unite the two kingdoms to bring about peace. One glance at her daughter's shocked face caused her to send him away. Serenity obviously resented marrying a man she had never met, and a Terran at that! Endymion was not good enough for her child, even if he were a ruler in his own right.

Oh, had she only realised what had truly transpired right in front of her. She had assumed that Kunzite lusted after Serenity. Many did. And so even though the words were never spoken, she had made sure that he knew that her daughter was as forbidden to him as to his master.

The ambassador had then bowed to her once more and strode out of the building, an unreadable expression on his face.

As soon as he had left the Moon, her beautiful child had withered like a flower in a merciless winter. Nothing brought a smile to her usually laughing face and not even Artemis or her senshi were allowed near here. Hiding in her room, Serenity had wondered how she could have been so terribly, terribly wrong. When Earth's armies had arrived on the Moon to destroy it, to stomp it into the ground, she had looked up for the first time in weeks. Her cornflower eyes scanned the attacking crowd, neglecting the danger if she could only see him once more. She had to be dragged into safety and away from the battlefield, but the battlefield had finally come to her.

It was only today, in these last minutes that Selenity finally caught on to the source of her child's distress, and looking down on the two entwined lovers, she despaired at fate's cruelty.

Lying in the arms of her general, the princess of the Moon died with a smile on her lips, for she had read in Kunzite's stormy green eyes the story of his eternal love for her.

Saturn's glaive fell before Endymion lifted his sword once more. Selenity shouted her last wish to the heavens, hoping it had been heard.

Everything faded to black.

The world was no more.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
